The first entry in the Getting Dynastic series is the 1980-1984 New York Islanders. They won 4 consecutive Stanley Cups to begin the 1980s.
Categories
Rings
The Islanders won four championships in four years. (20/20, as no other modern team has won this many consecutive championships)
Non-Championship Years
Before winning the Cup, the Islanders had a string of 100 point seasons after which they did not go far in the playoffs.
After their four Cup streak, the Islanders lost that 1984 Stanley Cup Finals to the Edmonton Oilers, who will be the subject of a future edition, and then faded back to the pack. (8/10)
Peak Performance / Signature Wins
The 1982 Islanders posted 118 points in the regular season, including a 15 game winning streak, and swept the last 2 rounds of the playoffs. (9/10)
Star Power
Main stars of the Islanders were:
Denis Potvin, the eminent offensive defenseman of his day, who won 3 Norris Trophies in the 1970s
Mike Bossy, who had 9 consecutive 50 goal seasons
Bryant Trottier, captain and playmaking center
Billy Smith, goaltender
(7/10)
Coaching / Innovation
Al Arbour was the head coach, and after the 100 point seasons resulted in playoff losses, decided to de-emphasize the regular season for the playoff, which worked out. He also devised the “trap” which frustrated opposing offenses (4/5)
Legacy
The Islanders were an expansion team in 1972. They had been the little brothers to the Manhattan-based Rangers, and probably remained so even during their run of Stanley Cup champs. The team suffered under bad ownership, and fell behind the New Jersey Devils to third place in the NYC area during the Devils’ title runs. These days, they are about event with them, and are in general just a franchise.
Trottier went on to win 2 more cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Otherwise, not much (2/5)
Competition
The Islanders were sandwiched between two other dynasties, the late 1970s Canadiens, and the mid-late 1980s Oilers. At this time, the league was still absorbing the expansion teams from earlier in the decade and the WHA merger. Their four Stanley Cup finals were against four different opponents — the Flyers, North Stars, Canucks, and Oilers. Only that last Oilers team went on to success, vanquishing the Islanders the following year. (2/5)
Achilles Heel
My impression is that this was a well-balanced team that did not have any obvious weaknesses (5/5)
Bias Check
This team was dominant when I was 5-9, and hockey was not my favorite sport, so my memory is probably hazy. And I rooted for the Flyers, and part of their lore is that Bobby Nystrom was offside before scoring the winning OT goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. (+2)
Summary
59 points, which is higher than I would have predicted. But four consecutive championships is an unmatched achievement, so that goes a long way.
I used Gemeni to assist with the research, which in its current state produces a number of factual errors.